DirtyDusty

I have a hard time matching up colors on the screen. Anyone have an idea what color would match up with latigo saddle strings? The roo lace in brown seems to be darker. Does the Brandy color come closer to matching?

I was wondering if anyone knows a method to attach a crupper ring to the center of the jockeys, when the jockeys are laced together? I was going to use a frog with the ring attached to it, but I like the look of laced skirts.

I was going to order some 1/4” lace for lacing saddle skirts. Springfield has 3 finishes to chose from. LGP, Classic, and Glazed. Which one would work best? Is their another supplier most folks use? I found some on Etsy, but it ships from down under.

What about the older style pricking wheels by osbourne?

Is there a difference in the European, ie. Vergaz Blanchard, pricking wheels, and the ones like Osborne?

Wanting to upgrade my stitching awls but was wondering if anyone would mind sharing the size of the Douglass slim and regular, as far as thickness.

Another question on saddle finishes. I was going for just an oiled finish. I was thinking about antiquing the stamping and tooling, to highlight it. The process I used on smaller items, has been to oil, tan kote, antique, and then another coat of tan kote. How will this work in a saddle that’s out in the weather getting rained on? Will the tan kote stop future oilings from soaking in? What’s your advice on finishes for saddles that will be used in damp weather? Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know of a supplier, for the latigo holder and the cinch holder, that have the tab to put a breast collar dee on with?

Yes sir. Doing a partial tooling pattern. Learning to tool along with building a saddle is a slow process, when you work a lot of overtime. I tried out a piece on this scrap, it did ok, but if I hold it up side ways and look down the pattern, it seems to look like the pattern is stretching, where the basket pattern was the widest.

Thanks! I have gone back and forth on ring vs. dee vs. flat plate. Next saddle, Lord willing, will probably be a flat plate. Unless I make my daughter a barrel saddle.

Decided to go with the Stohlman style drop dee rigging. Anything stand out as a problem at this point?

What’s your favorite size beveler that you find yourself using most, in the Barry King steep beveler line up, for floral carving?

Can anyone here, point me in the right direction? I am wanting to make a cell phone case for an iPhone 12 Pro, but I am not sure what size or style of clip to use. Anyone know if a guide that shows what size belt clips go with what size item?

I notice the 550 rings and similar versions, listed as inskirt rigging. The only ones I see for flat plate are the 5053 style. Is there a reason you couldn’t use the inskirt rings on a flat plate?

How deep are the skirts on that saddle? How far down does the rigging plate come? Has a nice balanced look.

I have been shaving some more off the rise. I am getting into the grain of the top piece of leather. Is this normal? Still have the thickness of the first layer underneath. Still need to thin the sides more, too.

Got a little progress made. Cantle back is fitted and waiting for me to stamp it. Ground seat has 2 layers, like the Jeremiah Watt method. How does my ground work look? Hard to get a good angle go see the the contours. The pencil marks are 1” apart, starting at the cantle, for reference. Penciled in where the stirrup slot will be notched out. Lower angle shows where I thinned out over stirrup leather. Should this area be thinned more?

Whats your process for stamping saddles. Take a cantle back for instance. When you mold it and tack it, do you let it dry enough to stamp, then pull it off right then and stamp, or let it dry up overnight, pull off and dampen enough to tool? Do you back up the thick skirting leather, like you do the thinner stuff, to prevent stretch?

I read several post a while back that referenced glueing poster board to the back of leather, to keep the stamping from distorting the shape. Is this necessary with heavy skirting, like when stamping saddles? What are you glueing it with and how do you handle the residue when you pull it off?

I tried the tree on the mule this afternoon to see how the strainer cleared his spine. It was touching the hair on his spine , at the lowest point of the strainer. The skirts were not on, so that should give me another 3/8” clearance? 5-star makes a mule lad for extreme mike backs, that has the center cut away for clearance. I have seen where Paul Garrison, the mule trainer modifies his pads to accommodate mule backs lijevthis one. Any thoughts?

Anyone use 6” plus for skiving? I saw on the Jeremiah Watt dvd, where he was saying how he liked a 6”-6.5” head knife. I haven’t seen too many for sale, that big, nor tried one myself. I am curious how they do, compared to a 4.5”-5”.

Did you use a push beader around the tooling on this saddle? If so, what size. Bruce Johnson said he has some 1/8” and 3/16” that should be ready soon. I was thinking of doing a bead with some basket tooling on this saddle. On a side note, I have an older Tex tan saddle that has some basket tooling. I started looking at it closer and noticed they used different size basket stamp pattern on different parts. Never noticed it before, but when I started doing leather work, I started noticing it.

Yes, I am following watts method. The strainer will still come down about 1/4” behind the stirrup slot. I just tacked a couple nails in place, nothing was driven down. It shows laying the first layer down 2/3rd the way back, and sloping up to the swell. Then the next piece goes from the swell all the way back to the dish, a couple inches shy of the rim. Then a cantle filler for a Cheyenne roll. I am doing a straight up cantle, so I am wondering if I need to run my 2nd piece of ground work all the way to the back rim, since the cantle filler will be going on the back side.

Are you glueing a narrow strip on the back edge of the cantle back, then edging the bottom edge of that strip too?

Finally got a day off to get a little work done on it. Had a few questions before I get too far ahead. I got my plugs and risers in, Lined my strainer, and wanted to make sure it looks like it’s set right. I have some arch in it, up until it starts to curve upwards. At that point, it flattens back out. Looking from behind, it looks like there isn’t much clearance for the spine. Is this enough? The side view is how it will be sitting on the mules back. Does the slope look ok? in the mock up, I have the lining, for the strainer, under the front tabs. Should I pull it back out, so that the excess will pull out of the way far enough? Any other issues you see?